For example, my sorority’s philanthropy is related to a specific medical condition. Our national raises charity money by asking for donations directly to our foundation, which then disburses the funds to organizations related to our philanthropy. But we also help raise money directly for local organizations related to our philanthropy. For example, last year I donated $150 to my sorority foundation (which would show up in the Newsweek numbers), but I also donated over $1,000 directly to a local children’s organization that addresses our philanthropic goals. I became aware of that organization because our local alum group and two local university chapters devote time and money to assisting and raising funds directly for that local entity.
That’s admirable, but I’m unclear why it would count as sorority fundraising. Would that be money that you otherwise wouldn’t have donated at all, or (as I believe) are you the kind of person who generously contributes to local charities? I don’t see an organization diverting money from one donation to another donation as socially beneficial. That is, if you were going to give money to the Leukemia Society, but instead you give it to a local homeless shelter because that’s your sorority’s philanthropic focus, and I was going to give money to the homeless shelter but I give it instead to the Leukemia Society because that’s my sorority’s philanthropic focus, then the sororities haven’t done any good. It’s only when they pry money (or time) out of our pockets that would otherwise have gone to eating at Michelin-star restaurants that they’ve made a difference.
Think about it: If a fraternity’s philanthropy is say, MS, they are not going to hold a 5K or walkathon that says: Come walk to raise money for Sigma Chi’s foundation! No, they are going to partner with the local MS organization, and entrants will write checks directly to MS. None of that money will flow through the fraternity’s foundation, but they did do the work to raise the money.
Also, addressing your earlier question: Yes, my sorority’s philanthropy absolutely influences my level of giving. I give more because I made an informal commitment to support that philanthropy and my awareness about it has been raised. This philanthropy is also aware that my sorority supports its cause, and we are not infrequently specifically asked to help both in donations and in manpower. The executive director of the local entity I support is also an alum of my sorority (not my chapter). Whether this is true of all of my fellow alums, I have no idea, but the alums in my area are very generous towards this entity.
It’s more gratifying to raise money for a local organization - or a local chapter of an organization than to pool your money in a national pot. I would guess that most greek organizations support the local chapter of an organization or a local organization. But i would equally guess that while national organizations “ask” their chapter about their donations they may not aggregate the data.
Here is what UVA says about its fraternity fundraising, which sounds like much of it is via local endeavors (versus donating to its national foundation):
S’s house partnered with 2 other houses (a panhel sorority, and then an Asian-affiliated sorority) to raise $140,000 for charity this past year. I’m guessing that would be divided among 250 people (100 in the frat, 100 in the first sorority, 50 in the second sorority) so that would be $560 per person, though I’m only guesstimating the size of the houses here.
Yes, which is why I look at the Newsweek numbers as somewhat worthless with respect to what active collegiate members are doing. It would be surprising to me if any collegians were able to get significant donations made directly to their fraternity 501(c)(3) foundations, which is the only pot Newsweek looked at. Those donations probably come mostly from alums, or friends or others who understand what it means to make a charitable contribution that way.
Bay,
I have to give some credit to you for the numbers from MN. $100 bucks a head is not bad. For years, I have maintained my assertion regarding Greek fundraising. You are the first person to provide a reference to counter that. But (there is always a but) I also poked around MN and found one frats annual report and their giving was $3000 last year. So there there are still huge swings in the amount given to get to the 200,000 number. But that will be true with any large group association.
Yes, and if you have much experience in fundraising (which I do), you know that some efforts are smashing successes and others are duds. People try to keep event ideas fresh, but sometimes they just don’t work.
As a lawyer who has dabbled a bit in the law of defamation, I have to say this thread is really fascinating, even leaving the obvious politics aside. A couple real quick legal points that may be some help to some of you trying to understand this.
1)Rolling Stone will not release the advise of their lawyers until they have to, as a defense in any suit that gets brought. This is because you can’t partially waive the privilege. If they say “the lawyers said it was ok” then they can be deposed (and will) in excruciating detail about what was given to the lawyers, what was said, etc. The danger is that if they held facts from the lawyers before publishing, then that can be evidence of libel per se, which would be bad.
2)The individual college officers probably can’t sue as they are public figures, which makes it harder to recover in the first instance. Also, their damages would be minimal. In today’s climate, few would expect them to act in any manner other than what they did.
3)If the plaintiffs in any ultimate suit are the individual brothers or the local chapter, then the damages can be potentially huge. Trust me, there will be plaintiff’s lawyers lining up to handle this case. The fact that there is a perception that all frats are bad, just maybe not in this specific case, will be used by the plaintiff to establish that Rolling Stone was shoddy, and went after an easy target. Juries don’t like that. Especially because a good plaintiff’s lawyer will have the three or four most unoffensive frat brothers sitting right there, day after day. If the plaintiff can get by summary judgment, the case will settle, of that I have no doubt. This is not Whistler v Ruskin.
4)The woman who started this mess can be sued for defamation, but as someone said plaintiff’s lawyers don;’ work for free, and since it will be assumedly easy to prove she acted intentionally in spreading the story, there probably won’t even be insurance money to go after.
Defamation verdicts have been in the millions of dollars in cases that are much less notorious than this one. I expect a settlement of seven figures for Phi Psi.
The CJR report is in and of itself an example of bad journalism. The CJR laments the fact that in the future people might not be willing to believe each and every rape claim made by a woman (Good!), citing the “fact” that only two to eight percent of rape claims are false. And what was the “source” for this often quoted two to eight percent claim? A handout from some feminist conference with no evidence whatsoever to back it up.The actual figure based on law-enforcement data is more like 25 to 40 percent.
Rape is like any other crime. People lie when it suits their purpose. People lie to get out of a jam (in the Duke Lacrosse case, Crystal Magnum only made her claim when she found out that the police were going to take her to the psych ward. Many of us knew this was a lie from the very start, but of course the liberals shouted us down.
What I find odd is how little has been reported on how the initial report of rape to her friends was that she had been raped by a guy named Haven Monahan. Her friends had seen text messages from the guy, but in fact the messages were from Jackie, who created a fake account in order to try to make another male, Ryan, jealous. The night of the “rape” Ryan was one of the ones who “rescued” her, and he spent the night with her to comfort her. Ha! A few days after the so-called “rape” the mythical Haven Monahan sent a text to Jackie’s real love interest, Ryan, telling him that he sure liked Jackie but she was so infatuated with Ryan that he knew he was wasting his time.
Then the whole rape thing pretty much went away until Jackie was called into the dean’s office because she wasn’t attended class and was failing. At that point she suddenly remembered that she had been “raped.” Anything to keep from being thrown out of school!
To date there has been no real apology to the guys who were falsely accused of rape, by Rolling Stone or UVA. These guys have had their lives turned upside down, their winter formal cancelled, they were thrown out of their house on no notice, their house was vandalized, etc. And yet the only apology is over the fact that it’s going to be harder for women to make unsubstantiated rape claims against innocent people.
@Ohiodad51 Public figures can recover for defamation where there is a reckless disregard of professional journalistic standards, as there was in this case. Curtis Publishing v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130 (1967). That’s the case that closed the Saturday Evening Post. Let’s hope the UVA case closes Rolling Stone.
Sorry for the quick backtrack, but upon further reflection I must ask: do you know how big this chapter was at the time? The smaller and newer chapters may have a more difficult time raising the big bucks due to fewer personnel available to put on events and no traditional events yet established. If the chapter had 30 members, that is still $100 raised per member.
Anyway, the ultimate irony will be if these fraternity men end up getting rich over the very subject that some people hate them for. It reminds me of the saying, “Be careful what you wish for…”
@earlvandorn, yes, public figures can be defamed, and recover for it. But the standard of proof required is much higher, and my guess is no Plaintiff’s lawyer will think the work required to get over the burden will be justified by whatever small damages the Univ. president may be able to recover. The local frat chapter, or the individual brothers, have a much easier path, with a higher reward.
No problem. I’m the one that brought it up. I don’t know the size, but it was Sigma Alpha Nu. There is a photo on their website with has 45 or so people in it.